Pittsburgh at Ottawa

Just for the sake of some fresh air. Lots of negative emotions now. I guess a win here would make things OK.

Dejan Kovacevic ‏@Dejan_Kovacevic
Jeffrey taking Glass' place on third line. All other lines, pairings same as last night.

Glad for Dustin. Hopefully he will take this opportunity. Not sure if Glass deserves to be scratched. I am a Tangradi hater, but he was decent on that 4th line role. 3rd line was invisible, so I can understand it, for now.

I actually thought the Pens were playing hard in Winnipeg and deserved better. I expect them being inspired and focused, but Ottawa is a tough matchup. Especially on the road. Malkin needs to bounce back and we have a chance.

Yay, we get to see Lovejoy and Engelland **** all over the ice again! Yay for accountability!

Well, like every game this season, I'm going to be looking to see how we play against Ottawa. Leave the score out of it. Win or lose, we played pretty reckless hockey against them all last season. Similar to what we did all last season against Ottawa.

I'm sure if we get to our game, then things will be better.

Side note: One of the ugly games against Ottawa, I remember a sequence where Nick Foligno completely undressed the Pens in their zone. He doesn't do it a lot, but he's capable of doing it once in a while. It dawned on me then that, outside of Sid and Geno, the Pens had on their roster no forward more offensively creative than Nick Foligno. Think about that. Even Neal, who's a top forward, is a top forward because of that shot, not because of any great individual playmaking ability. And, then we wonder why, when the Pens aren't 'playing their game', why Sid and Geno go off the reservation.

Expecting them to put on another clinic in turnovers. Hopefully they win this time though.

They may. They may not. Does it make a difference if they pull another turnover clinic and are skating around like chickens with their heads cut off in the defensive zone. Most would say 'no', just like the games leading into last year's playoffs.

I just can not fathom how a Despres-Bortuzzo pairing wouldn't even be tried. Both guys are 6'4" and physical. Bortuzzo is more stay at home and Despres likes to skate with the puck. They have so much potential to be a great reliable 3rd pairing if just given a chance to adjust to the pro game. Just another stupid lineup decision credited to Bylsma I guess.

I just can not fathom how a Despres-Bortuzzo pairing wouldn't even be tried. Both guys are 6'4" and physical. Bortuzzo is more stay at home and Despres likes to skate with the puck. They have so much potential to be a great reliable 3rd pairing if just given a chance to adjust to the pro game. Just another stupid lineup decision credited to Bylsma I guess.

Why would you say you can't fathom something when you certainly fathomed it at the end of your post?